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Iran Sanctions (open access)

Iran Sanctions

Report that focuses on the United States' relationship with Iran and how the Obama Administration is handling prior administration's economic sanctions against Iran.
Date: January 11, 2011
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Missile Defense and NATO's Lisbon Summit (open access)

Missile Defense and NATO's Lisbon Summit

Report regarding the November 2010 Lisbon Summit, wherein alliance heads of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization approved a plan to integrate existing NATO members ballistic missile defense capabilities into their overall defense posture. This report looks at advantages, challenges, and current Congressional legislation regarding the Obama Administration's Phased Adaptive Approach, which would be regional ballistic missile defense capability in Europe.
Date: January 11, 2011
Creator: Hildreth, Steven A. & Ek, Carl
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Base Closures: Socioeconomic Impacts (open access)

Military Base Closures: Socioeconomic Impacts

This report explores the potential economic impact of military closures on communities, especially rural communities, which are more heavily affected by such closures and suffer from slower economic recovery times in such instances.
Date: January 11, 2011
Creator: Cowan, Tadlock & Gonzales, Oscar R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer (open access)

The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer

Report concerning food safety, the resources required to ensure food safety, and whether federal food safety laws themselves, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in the food production, processing, and marketing sectors since then.
Date: January 11, 2011
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress

Report that discusses the background of cluster munitions in the U.S. military, and the current Department of Defense (DOD) and Obama Administration stances on the topic. It also discusses the two major international initiatives to address cluster munitions: the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and negotiations under the U.N. Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).
Date: January 11, 2011
Creator: Feickert, Andrew & Kerr, Paul K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library

Faculty and Guest Artist Recital: 2011-10-11 – Felix Olschofka, Violin, Eugene Osadchy, Cello, and Anastasia Markina, Piano

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Chamber Music concert performed at the UNT College of Music Voertman Hall
Date: October 11, 2011
Creator: Olschofka, Felix; Osadchy, Eugene & Markina, Anastasia, 1978-
Object Type: Video
System: The UNT Digital Library
Long-Term Care Insurance: Carrier Interest in the Federal Program, Changes to Its Actuarial Assumptions, and OPM Oversight (open access)

Long-Term Care Insurance: Carrier Interest in the Federal Program, Changes to Its Actuarial Assumptions, and OPM Oversight

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2002, the federal government has offered long-term care insurance to its employees, retirees, and certain others through the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP). Enrollees pay the full cost of their premiums. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) oversees the program. OPM has held two competitive processes to select contractors to insure enrollees and administer FLTCIP, although interest in and competition for these contracts has been limited. In 2009, soon after OPM's award of FLTCIP's second 7-year contract to John Hancock Life Insurance Company (John Hancock), 66 percent of enrollees were notified that their premiums would increase up to 25 percent in order to compensate for how the actuarial assumptions used to set premiums differed from the program's experience. GAO was asked to review FLTCIP. In this report, GAO describes (1) factors affecting carriers' interest in FLTCIP, (2) how the actuarial assumptions used to set FLTCIP premiums have changed since the program's inception, and (3) OPM's oversight of actuarial assumptions and experience and program communications. To do so, GAO interviewed officials from six carriers that in 2009 insured over 60 percent of all long-term …
Date: July 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Interagency Collaboration: Implications of a Common Alignment of World Regions among Select Federal Agencies (open access)

Interagency Collaboration: Implications of a Common Alignment of World Regions among Select Federal Agencies

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To carry out complex national security initiatives--such as combating illicit financing of terrorist activities, undertaking development projects in conflict zones, and countering piracy off the Horn of Africa--U.S. government agencies must coordinate with a large number of organizations in their planning efforts. Our prior work on the federal government's national security initiatives has determined that U.S. agencies face a number of challenges to effectively collaborating with one another, potentially resulting in gaps and overlaps in policy implementation. In particular, we have found that agencies face challenges to developing overarching strategies to achieve common goals, creating effective mechanisms for operating across agencies, and sharing sensitive information. For example, our work has shown that the Department of State (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have different planning time frames than the Department of Defense (DOD), which poses a challenge for the three organizations. This report summarizes and formally transmits the enclosed briefing in response to Section 1055 of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011, which required us to examine the need for and implications of a common alignment of world regions in …
Date: July 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Private Fund Advisers: Although a Self-Regulatory Organization Could Supplement SEC Oversight, It Would Present Challenges and Trade-offs (open access)

Private Fund Advisers: Although a Self-Regulatory Organization Could Supplement SEC Oversight, It Would Present Challenges and Trade-offs

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the past decade, hedge funds, private equity funds, and other private funds proliferated but were largely unregulated, causing members of Congress and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff to raise questions about investor protection and systemic risk. To address this potential regulatory gap, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) brought certain advisers to private funds under the federal securities laws, requiring them to register with SEC. The Dodd-Frank Act also requires GAO to examine the feasibility of forming a self-regulatory organization (SRO) to provide primary oversight of private fund advisers. This report discusses (1) the feasibility of forming such an SRO, and (2) the potential advantages and disadvantages of a private fund adviser SRO. To address the mandate, GAO reviewed federal securities laws, SEC staff's recently completed study on its investment adviser examination program that was mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, past regulatory and legislative proposals to create an SRO for investment advisers, and associated comment letters. GAO also interviewed SEC and SRO staffs, other regulators, and various market participants and observers. We provided a draft of this report to …
Date: July 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Employment and Training Programs: Providing Information on Colocating Services and Consolidating Administrative Structures (open access)

Employment and Training Programs: Providing Information on Colocating Services and Consolidating Administrative Structures

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the findings from our recent work on federal employment and training programs and our prior work on the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). GAO has recently identified 47 federally-funded employment and training programs for fiscal year 2009, defining them as programs that are specifically designed to enhance the job skills of individuals in order to increase their employability, identify job opportunities, and/or help job seekers obtain employment. These programs, which are administered by nine separate federal agencies--including the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services (HHS)--spent about $18 billion dollars in fiscal year 2009 to provide services such as job search assistance and job counseling to program participants. Seven programs accounted for about three-fourths of this spending, and two--Wagner- Peyser funded Employment Service (ES) and WIA Adult--together reported serving over 18 million individuals, or about 77 percent of the total number of participants served across all programs. Forty-four of the 47 programs we identified, including those with broader missions such as multipurpose block grants, overlap with at least one other program in that they provide at least one similar service to a …
Date: May 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
IRS Budget 2012: Extending Systematic Reviews of Spending Could Identify More Savings Over Time (open access)

IRS Budget 2012: Extending Systematic Reviews of Spending Could Identify More Savings Over Time

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The financing of the federal government depends largely on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) efforts to collect taxes. These efforts focus on providing taxpayer services, such as electronic filing and telephone assistance, to make voluntary compliance easier and enforcing tax laws to ensure everyone meets their obligations to pay taxes. To fund IRS's 2012 operations, the President requested $13.3 billion spread over five appropriations, including $6 billion for enforcement, $4.6 billion for operations support, and $2.3 billion for taxpayer services. Because of the size of IRS's budget and the importance of its service and compliance programs for all taxpayers, Congress asked us to review the fiscal year 2012 budget justification for IRS. Special areas of interest included any new tax law enforcement and taxpayer service initiatives, the cost of implementing IRS's responsibilities under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and any opportunities for savings. Based on your request our objectives were to: (1) describe IRS's budget and staffing trends for fiscal years 2008 through 2012; (2) assess IRS's process for identifying potential savings and how it used savings that were greater than projected; (3) …
Date: April 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisition: DOD Should Clarify Requirements for Assessing and Documenting Technical-Data Needs (open access)

Defense Acquisition: DOD Should Clarify Requirements for Assessing and Documenting Technical-Data Needs

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Some of the Department of Defense's (DOD) weapon systems remain in the inventory for decades. Therefore, decisions that program officials make during the acquisition process to acquire or not acquire rights to technical data, which may cost $1 billion, can have far-reaching implications for DOD's ability to sustain and competitively procure parts and services for those systems. DOD needs access to technical data to control costs, maintain flexibility in acquisition and sustainment, and maintain and operate systems. In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the extent to which: (1) DOD has updated its acquisition and procurement policies to reflect a 2007 law and 2006 GAO recommendations; (2) selected acquisition programs adhered to requirements to document technical-data needs; and (3) DOD took actions to improve technical-data decisions by program managers. GAO interviewed DOD officials, reviewed acquisition strategies and acquisition plans from 12 programs, and compared those documents to relevant DOD policies."
Date: May 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hospital Emergency Departments: Health Center Strategies That May Help Reduce Their Use (open access)

Hospital Emergency Departments: Health Center Strategies That May Help Reduce Their Use

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Hospital emergency departments are a major component of the nation's health care safety net as they are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and generally are required to medically screen all people regardless of ability to pay. From 1997 through 2007, U.S. emergency department per capita use increased 11 percent. In 2007, there were approximately 117 million visits to emergency departments; of these visits, approximately 8 percent were classified as nonurgent. The use of emergency departments, including use for nonurgent conditions, may increase as more people obtain health insurance coverage as the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) are implemented. Some nonurgent visits are for conditions that likely could be treated in other, more cost-effective settings, such as health centers--facilities that provide primary care and other services to individuals in communities they serve regardless of ability to pay. Care provided in an emergency department may be substantially more costly than care provided in a health center. The average amount paid for a nonemergency visit to the emergency department was seven times more than that for a health center visit, according to …
Date: April 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: Better Informed Decision Making Needed on Navy's Next Generation Enterprise Network Acquisition (open access)

Information Technology: Better Informed Decision Making Needed on Navy's Next Generation Enterprise Network Acquisition

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Navy (DON), a major component of the Department of Defense (DOD), has launched its Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) program to replace the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) program. NGEN capabilities, such as secure transport of voice and data, data storage, and e-mail, are to be incrementally acquired through multiple providers. As planned, the first increment is expected to provide comparable NMCI capabilities, additional information assurance, and greater DON network control, at a cost of about $50 billion through fiscal year 2025. Given the size, importance, and complexity of NGEN, GAO was asked to determine whether DON has sufficiently analyzed alternative acquisition approaches and has a reliable schedule for executing the program, and whether program acquisition decisions have been performance- and risk-based. To do this, GAO reviewed the NGEN analysis of alternatives, integrated master schedule, and key milestone decisions."
Date: March 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air Quality: Information on Tall Smokestacks and Their Contribution to Interstate Transport of Air Pollution (open access)

Air Quality: Information on Tall Smokestacks and Their Contribution to Interstate Transport of Air Pollution

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Tall smokestacks--stacks of 500 feet or higher, which are primarily used at coal power plants--release air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) high into the atmosphere to help limit the impact of these emissions on local air quality. Tall stacks can also increase the distance these pollutants travel in the atmosphere and harm air quality and the environment in downwind communities. The 1977 amendments to the Clean Air Act encourage the use of pollution control equipment over dispersion techniques, such as tall stacks, to meet national air standards. Section 123 of the Act does not limit stack height, but prohibits sources of emissions from using the dispersion effects of stack heights in excess of a stack's good engineering practice (GEP) height to meet emissions limitations. GAO was asked to report on (1) the number and location of tall stacks of 500 feet or higher at coal power plants and when they began operating; (2) what is known about such stacks' contribution to the interstate transport of air pollution and the pollution controls installed at plants with these stacks; and (3) the number …
Date: May 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
International Space Station (ISS) - Ongoing Assessments for Life Extension Appear to be Supported (open access)

International Space Station (ISS) - Ongoing Assessments for Life Extension Appear to be Supported

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This document is in response to the mandate contained in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Authorization Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-267, Section 503(c)(2), for GAO to provide an evaluation of the accuracy and level of confidence in the findings contained in NASA's assessment of the essential modules, operational systems and components, structural elements, and permanent scientific equipment required to ensure complete, effective, and safe functioning and full scientific utilization of the International Space Station through 2020. We provided to Congress a draft copy of this briefing in meetings with them on April 6 and 7, 2011. We also provided a draft to NASA for comment. NASA agreed with our findings and provided technical comments that we incorporated as appropriate."
Date: April 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Security: TSA Has Enhanced Its Explosives Detection Requirements for Checked Baggage, but Additional Screening Actions Are Needed (open access)

Aviation Security: TSA Has Enhanced Its Explosives Detection Requirements for Checked Baggage, but Additional Screening Actions Are Needed

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Explosives represent a continuing threat to aviation security. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), seeks to ensure through the Electronic Baggage Screening Program (EBSP) that checked-baggage-screening technology is capable of detecting explosives. Generally, the explosives detection system (EDS) is used in conjunction with explosives trace detection (ETD) machines to identify and resolve threats in checked baggage. As requested, GAO assessed the extent to which: (1) TSA revised explosives detection requirements and deployed technology to meet those requirements, and (2) TSA's approach to the current EDS acquisition meets best practices for schedules and cost estimates and includes plans for potential upgrades of deployed EDSs. GAO analyzed EDS requirements, compared the EDS acquisition schedule against GAO best practices, and interviewed DHS officials. This is a public version of a sensitive report that GAO issued in May 2011."
Date: July 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Depot Maintenance: Air Force Is Assessing Engine Maintenance Options for Work Currently Performed at Kelly Aviation Center (open access)

Depot Maintenance: Air Force Is Assessing Engine Maintenance Options for Work Currently Performed at Kelly Aviation Center

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to questions that Congress raised about Air Force engine maintenance and repair work currently performed at Kelly Aviation Center (KAC) and the potential transfer of that work to another location. In 1999, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) awarded a contract to KAC to perform work, including depot-level maintenance, repair, and overhaul on TF39 engines, which are typically used for C-5 Galaxy aircraft; T56 engines, which are typically used for C-130 aircraft; and fuel accessories on these engines. The Air Force estimates the total expenditure under the contract for this work to be $3.7 billion from February 16, 1999, through December 1, 2010. The contract is not to exceed 15 years (the contract had an initial 7-year ordering period that could be extended to 15 years or reduced to 5 years based on performance), and will expire not later than February 15, 2014. The Air Force will need to determine how to conduct the engine maintenance work after the term of the contract ends. Congress requested that we review the potential transfer of the engine maintenance and repair workload from KAC. Our objectives were to …
Date: February 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: Department of Veterans Affairs Faces Ongoing Management Challenges (open access)

Information Technology: Department of Veterans Affairs Faces Ongoing Management Challenges

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The use of information technology (IT) is crucial to helping the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) effectively serve the nation's veterans, and the department has expended billions of dollars annually over the last several years to manage and secure its information systems and assets. VA has, however, experienced challenges in managing its IT. GAO has previously highlighted VA's weaknesses in managing and securing its information systems and assets. GAO was asked to testify on its past work on VA's weaknesses in managing its IT resources, specifically in the areas of systems development, information security, and collaboration with the Department of Defense (DOD) on efforts to meet common health system needs."
Date: May 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hospital Emergency Departments: Health Center Strategies That May Help Reduce Their Use (open access)

Hospital Emergency Departments: Health Center Strategies That May Help Reduce Their Use

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses strategies that health centers-- facilities that provide primary care and other services to individuals in communities they serve regardless of ability to pay--employ that may help reduce hospital emergency department use. Hospital emergency departments are a major component of the nation's health care safety net as they are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and generally are required to medically screen all people regardless of ability to pay. From 1997 through 2007, U.S. emergency department per capita use increased 11 percent. In 2007, there were approximately 117 million visits to emergency departments; of these visits, approximately 8 percent were classified as nonurgent. The use of emergency departments, including use for nonurgent conditions, may increase as more people obtain health insurance coverage as the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) are implemented. Some nonurgent visits are for conditions that likely could be treated in other, more cost-effective settings, such as health centers. In 2008, the average amount paid for a nonemergency visit to the emergency department was seven times more than that for a health center visit, according to …
Date: May 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Flood Insurance: Public Policy Goals Provide a Framework for Reform (open access)

Flood Insurance: Public Policy Goals Provide a Framework for Reform

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been on GAO's high-risk list since 2006, when the program had to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to cover losses from the 2005 hurricanes. The outstanding debt is $17.8 billion as of March 2011. This sizeable debt, plus operational and management challenges that GAO has identified at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers NFIP, have combined to keep the program on the high-risk list. NFIP's need to borrow to cover claims in years of catastrophic flooding has raised concerns about the program's long-term financial solvency. This testimony 1) discusses ways to place NFIP on a sounder financial footing in light of public policy goals for federal involvement in natural catastrophe insurance and 2) highlights operational and management challenges at FEMA that affect the program. In preparing this statement, GAO relied on its past work on NFIP and on its ongoing review of FEMA's management of NFIP, which focuses on its planning, policies, processes, and systems. The management review includes areas such as strategic and human capital planning, acquisition management, and intra-agency collaboration."
Date: March 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Space Acquisitions: DOD Delivering New Generations of Satellites, but Space System Acquisition Challenges Remain (open access)

Space Acquisitions: DOD Delivering New Generations of Satellites, but Space System Acquisition Challenges Remain

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Despite decades of significant investment, most of the Department of Defense's (DOD) large space acquisition programs have collectively experienced billions of dollars in cost increases, stretched schedules, and increased technical risks. Significant schedule delays of as much as 9 years have resulted in potential capability gaps in missile warning, military communications, and weather monitoring. These problems persist, with other space acquisition programs still facing challenges in meeting their targets and aligning the delivery of assets with appropriate ground and user systems. To address cost increases, DOD reduced the number of satellites it would buy, reduced satellite capabilities, or terminated major space system acquisitions. Broad actions have also been taken to prevent their occurrence in new programs, including better management of the acquisition process and oversight of its contractors and resolution of technical and other obstacles to DOD's ability to deliver capability. This testimony will focus on the (1) status of space system acquisitions, (2) results of GAO's space-related reviews over the past year and the challenges they signify, (3) efforts DOD has taken to address causes of problems and increase credibility and success in its space system acquisitions …
Date: May 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Interagency Contracting: An Overview of Federal Procurement and Appropriations Law (open access)

Interagency Contracting: An Overview of Federal Procurement and Appropriations Law

Recently, federal agencies have increasingly resorted to interagency contracting, relying on the contracts or contracting operations of other agencies to acquire goods and services. This increased use of interagency contracting has made it a topic of interest to some members of Congress. This report provides an overview of the federal procurement and appropriations laws governing interagency contracting. It defines key terms used in discussing interagency contracting; surveys the various interagency contracting vehicles; and describes recently enacted and proposed amendments to the laws governing interagency contracting.
Date: January 11, 2011
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Yeh, Brian T.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Sanctions on Burma (open access)

U.S. Sanctions on Burma

Existing U.S. sanctions on Burma are based on various U.S. laws and Presidential Executive Orders. This report provides a brief history of U.S. policy towards Burma and the development of U.S. sanctions, a topical summary of those sanctions, and an examination of additional sanctions that have been considered, but not enacted, by Congress, or that could be imposed under existing law or executive orders. The report concludes with a discussion of options for Congress.
Date: January 11, 2011
Creator: Martin, Michael F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library